Remember Me - Regency Brides 03 Read Online Free PDF Page B

and herself in. But it was too late to fix it now! What was she to do? Quickly she scrambled to find a reasonable, believable explanation for her behavior. "I suppose I am just excited about seeing a familiar face from England."
    Helen couldn't have come up with a more perfect excuse. Immediately Imogene's expression changed; she thought she knew a secret as she slid her gaze from North to Helen and back again. "Of course you are, dear!" she crooned as she put a hand to her chest and sighed. "1 forgot you haven't had a chance to reacquaint yourselves."
    "So do you hol er when you preach?" Josie piped up in her usual straightforward fashion.
    "Wel , my word, Josie! What a thing to ask," her mother reprimanded her.
    The thirteen-year-old shrugged. "Wel , the preacher at Joseph's church down the bayou hol ers. Joseph says it is because the preacher wants to make sure the devil knows they won't fal for his tricks."
    Helen quickly covered her mouth with her napkin to conceal her laughter, and when she looked across the table, she noticed North was having a hard time containing his own.
    "Maybe it is because sometimes the preacher believes his congregation is hard of hearing when he sees them doing something that isn't right," North suggested when he had his laughter under control.
    Josie nodded sagely, unaware she was entertaining them al . "You could be right, Reverend. So do you hol er, too?"
    North appeared to think about it and then answered, "I don't believe I have ever hol ered in church."
    Helen had to cover her mouth again when she pictured North "hol ering" at al .
    He was much too dignified. Again, North slid his gaze Helen's way and shared a smile with her.
    Their look apparently did not go unnoticed, although it may have been misread.
    Surprising them al , the usual y silent Mr. Baumgartner spoke up. "Why don't you walk him our to the bayou, Helen, and show him our newly built pier? It is a ful moon tonight, so there should be plenty of light. It wil give you two a chance to get reacquainted." He took a drink of water and then continued. "I'l have Joseph fol ow you at a distance to act as a chaperone."
    Helen stared at her usual y quiet employer, and she was further surprised when he gave her a brief wink that only she could see.
    "All right," she murmured, looking back at North. 'Would you like to see the bayou?"
    A look of pure relief relaxed North's strong, manly face, and a smile curved his lips. "Only if you tel me what a bayou is."
    They al laughed at his comment, and Helen stood up from her chair. "It wil be better if I show you."
    In a matter of moments, Helen and North were walking the path that led out to the pier.
    ' I want to apologize for putting you in the position of having to answer for me, "
    North told her as he looked over at her, admiring how the moon il uminated her soft features. "But I thought you said you didn't know much about me."
    He hoped she knew more than she let on, not only for the sake of getting his memory back, but because it might mean that she'd been interested enough in him to find out.
    She didn't answer right away, and when she did, there was regret on her face as she gave him a quick glance. ' I'm afraid I told a smal lie in there just now."
    She blew out a breath and stepped in front of him to stop him from walking. "I lied about your father."
    He had trouble focusing on what she was saying, so drawn was he by her beauty and the soft tones of her voice. But when he did realize what she'd said, he frowned in confusion. "What are you saying? That he is alive?"
    She seemed horrified by his question as she put her hands on either side of her face. "Oh no! I didn't mean that. ... I mean ... he is deceased." She shook her head. "Oh, dear! I meant he didn't die of the, flu like I said. I hope I did not give you false hope." .
    North reached out and took her hands from her face, squeezed them, and let them go. ' You didn't injure me, Miss Nichols. When you said my father had died, I